by S. L. Watson
I tucked the stone back inside my pocket and wondered at Freya’s reaction as Neil and Jasper said their goodbyes. It had been more than simple unease. Something about the ever stone haunted her, but what?
“How well do you know Freya?” I asked Neil as we drove back to his club.
Neil shrugged. “Freya’s father was a hunter. My mother traded fabrics for rare ingredients that only he procured. I remember I would trail behind Freya while my mother bartered with her father. I’d ask her a million questions while she gathered stones from anywhere she could find them.”
I wanted to ask Neil more about the stones Freya would collect, but we were pulling up to the club with Jasper right on my bumper. His motorcycle headlight flooded my rearview mirror.
“Someone’s in full Shield mode tonight.” Neil opened the passenger-side door, then leaned over and kissed my forehead. “I’m a call away if you need anything, darling.”
“Thanks, Neil.”
He closed the door and went inside the club.
I drove away with Jasper following close behind and Anya’s warning echoing in my mind. If there was even a chance she was right, I had to track Darion alone. The loss she sensed could be anything, but Orien had already attacked three people I cared about, and I couldn’t risk anyone else getting hurt.
Jasper’s motorcycle pulled up beside me in front of the main house.
I got out of my car and hoped my plan would work. “Will you go let my mom know what we found out? I’m running into my place to grab Oria’s ring. Then I’ll meet you inside.”
Jasper latched his helmet behind his motorcycle seat and furrowed his brow. “Are you sure you should bring the ring?”
My arms shivered, and I folded them tight across my chest. “Yes. Oria and the ancestors may have the knowledge to help defeat Orien. It’s worth the risk to bring it.”
Jasper didn’t budge as he studied me. He had the whole overprotective stance going on, and for a second, I didn’t think he’d go inside. “Okay.” He relaxed.
I blew out the breath I’d been holding and waited until he disappeared inside the front door before I ran to my apartment.
The shifter’s body was nowhere in sight, and a thick sheet of plastic covered the broken window.
I hurried to my bedroom closet and pulled out the long rectangular box and slipped the lid off. The silver sword lay sheathed inside. This had been the queen’s sword—Oria’s sword. And now it belonged to me. Its weight felt just right as I secured the belt around my waist. The sword had been forged to fit a woman of my size, at five feet four inches. It hugged my hip perfectly. I gripped the hilt, and the weapon sang as I slipped the dangerously sharp blade from its sheath. My finger slid across the edge of the glittering silver as I traced the runes burned into the blade, leading up to the embedded opal gem at the top of the handle, which I now recognized as an ever stone.
A section of the hilt clicked loose when I passed my finger over the stone. No one but Oria and her sword maker had known of the secret compartment before she’d shared the knowledge with me when I’d worn the ring. I’d put the ring inside for safekeeping after retrieving it from Felix’s. The familiar auras hummed with life as I scooped the ring out of the compartment and slipped it inside my pants pocket. Prisms of light danced across the sword as I lifted it high and slammed in into its scabbard.
Creeping from my apartment back to my car, I stayed low to avoid the windows. My heart skipped a beat when a shadow crossed in front of a window facing the driveway and paused. I ducked and quietly opened the driver’s side door, reaching in and shifting the gear into neutral. When the shadow moved from the window, I turned the steering wheel and rolled my car backward so it faced the exit of the driveway. I’d parked close enough to the road that I was able to give it another good push and roll far enough away before starting the engine and speeding toward the highway.
Sorry, Mom. But I can’t give Orien the chance to hurt anyone else I love. I have to do this alone.
Energy pulsed from Oria’s ring, tucked inside my pants pocket. Jasper was right about it being too risky to bring it with me, but I couldn’t leave it at my apartment—not after Orien had already sent one shifter to look for it there—and I didn’t have time to drive back to Felix’s.
I parked along the dark street in front of my yoga studio. The only visible movement was shadows of tree branches cast by the dim streetlamps, but I still kept my senses heightened as I crossed the sidewalk to the studio entrance and went inside.
Leaving the lights off so I could move without being seen from outside, I hurried to the locker room. The lingering incense from recent classes reminded me of the ever resin Freya had burned tonight, and of all the secrets of Aenoas-Vita I had yet to learn.
Inside the locker room, I scooted one side of the lockers forward to reveal an area of the brick wall that needed repairs. I shimmied out a loose brick and set it aside, then pulled Oria’s ring from my pocket. The auras swam wildly inside the tiny glass globe, and I wondered if the spirits of the ancestors inside sensed what was happening in the world of the living. I wrapped a cloth around the ring and tucked it inside the empty space in the wall. After carefully arranging the brick and lockers back in place, I left the studio.
The drive to the entrance of Crown Zellerbach Trail took about twenty minutes. I pulled up next to the only other vehicle. The leather-clad figure waited atop the parked motorcycle. I should have known I hadn’t fooled him. Jasper’s amber eyes stalked me furiously as I got out of my car and walked forward.
“Really, Ev? What the hell were you thinking coming out here alone?”
I huffed out a breath of fog. “I was thinking I didn’t want anyone else getting hurt. Orien wants me and Darion, and I want to keep you and everyone else I love safe.”
Jasper lifted himself off his motorcycle. “And what do you think is going to happen if he gets what he wants? He didn’t come out of hiding after hundreds of years just to vanish again.”
“No, he didn’t.” I leaned against the hood of my car.
Jasper peaked a brow as he glanced at the sword dangling at my side.
“My premonitions have started.” I kicked at nothing on the ground. “And the vision I saw was horrific. Orien doesn’t just want my and Darion’s magic; he wants to destroy Aenoas-Vita.”
Jasper cast his gaze up at the sky, then back toward me. “Then let’s go stop him.” A puff of fog billowed away with his words. He scooted closer and nudged my shoulder. “Together.”
I rested my head against his arm. “Do you know that Anya has magic? She warned me that I’m going to suffer a terrible loss. What if I can’t save our planet and Orien destroys everything and everyone?”
Jasper turned me to face him and put his gloved hands over mine. “Anya told me of her magic. Premonitions are interpretations of possibilities. They are not facts. One event can influence a multitude of changes.”
I shook my head. “Oria’s premonitions have never been wrong. She saw me generations before I was born.”
Jasper moved my chin and held it in place. “Anya is not Oria. She told me herself that the glimpses she gets can alter. Nothing is set in stone. The future can always change. It’s what we do now that matters.”
“What would I do without you, Jasp?”
He squeezed his long arms around me. “I ask myself that same question all the time.” His body vibrated with laughter.
“Hey!” I pinched his side.
“Ouch! Okay, I’m sorry. But I’m not just your best friend, Ev.” His laughter died, and his tone darkened. “I’m your Shield, and it’s my sworn duty to stand at your side and to protect you, at any cost.” His gloved finger tilted my chin up until our eyes locked. Flecks of gold glinted in his amber eyes. “We walk into those woods together, or neither of us goes at all.”
I nodded. “Together.”
“That’s my girl.” He pulled me against his hard chest, and I breathed in the worn leather scent of his jacket and relax
ed against him.
He wrapped the unzipped sides of his jacket over me, and my hands bumped up against cold metal.
“Great minds think alike,” Jasper laughed as I slid my hands under the sword strapped to his back.
“I love you, Jasp.”
He squeezed tighter. “I love you too, Ev.”
“Okay.” I exhaled and separated myself from Jasper’s embrace. “Let’s go find Darion and Lucas, and bring them home.” I opened the passenger-side door of my car and grabbed the pouch of stones. I’d already strapped the knife Freya had spelled and given me to my belt.
The forest loomed ahead. A year ago, I never would have imagined the two of us heading into the woods in the middle of the night, armed with swords, and yet here we were, doing just that.
Jasper’s shoulders shook, and his serious expression melted into an amused grin.
“What?” I asked as I scanned the area for any other energy signatures.
He shook his head. “I was just thinking about how different things are now. We used to be just a couple of teenagers, and now look at us: a queen and her Shield, preparing for battle.”
“I’m no queen, Jasp. It feels like a role I’ve been given that I have no talent for playing. I’m not even a true Vitarian. Earth is the only home I’ve known, and life was so much easier when I thought I was human. How can I rule a planet of people I don’t completely understand when I’ve never even set foot on Aenoas-Vita’s soil? Vitarians won’t accept me as their queen.”
Jasper snatched a leather glove off, and my fingers warmed as he entwined his with mine. “They already have. You just need to believe in yourself. And maybe it’s time we visit our planet. You’ll feel different once you’ve seen it and your people.” He squeezed my hand.
“Maybe.” I untangled my fingers from Jasper’s and walked to the trailhead. “But first, it’s time to get Darion and Lucas back.”
Three paths split in different directions. The stones tumbled out of the pouch as I turned it upside down over the ground. I arranged the labradorite crystals into three connecting lines, with each line facing a path. Then I peeled the bandage back from my hand and whipped out the knife. Fresh blood dripped down onto the stones, and a hot sting spread across my palm as I replaced the bandage over the oozing cut.
Crimson blood pooled together, as before, and rolled atop the stones to the farthest line of rocks. “We take that one.” I pointed to the path on our right, then scooped up the stones and secured them in their pouch.
As we made our way deeper up the trail, our surroundings blackened without any city lights. Vitarians saw better in the dark than humans did, but it was still a challenge. I slipped a small flashlight out of my jacket pocket and clicked it on the lowest setting and kept the light pointed down at the ground, hoping it wouldn’t attract attention if any unseen eyes monitored the woods.
We had walked for at least an hour when I heard what could have been water rushing somewhere in the distance. My blood pumped with renewed adrenaline.
“Do you hear that?” The wind soared, rustling leaves and branches in the tall ancient oak trees closing in around us.
Jasper closed his eyes and listened. “It sounds like the rush of a waterfall. Do you feel anything?”
I shook my head. “I’ve been trying the entire time. I don’t even sense the animals. Orien must have created a spell to hide the auras around this area.”
“Test your other abilities.”
I tilted my head up toward the top of the forest and connected my magic to nature’s elements. The wind roared at my command and swarmed around us, picking up twigs and nettles and dried leaves. I released it, and the debris fell back to the ground.
“Lift your shield,” I instructed Jasper.
I didn’t feel the heavy invisible energy that normally exploded from Jasper when he cocooned us in his impenetrable wall. Nor did I see the watery substance or feel the high vibrations that usually surrounded us. “Did it work?”
“Yes, it’s up. Orien must have done something to specifically block your Empath abilities.”
A twig snapped nearby, and we both turned, searching the woods.
I pointed the flashlight into the bushes where the noise had come from, and put my hand on Jasper’s shoulder, signaling him to take his shield down. Thanks to Orien, I couldn’t sense if there was another aura nearby, but my skin crawled with warning. As soon as we turned to continue on the trail, a squeal erupted from behind us, and someone jumped from the bushes.
Bree slapped her head furiously and shook her entire body.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I hissed.
She stomped madly at the ground, crushing something under her foot. Then she looked up with accusing eyes. Her finger shot out, shaking in midair. “You … I saw what you did with the wind. And … and I heard you talking about a spell. What are you?” Bree asked, shaking like a frightened mouse.
I stood speechless and glanced at Jasper. His attention was locked on Bree like she was a snake ready to strike.
Fiery anger coursed through me. “You didn’t see or hear anything. Why are you following us?” I propelled myself forward, ready to throttle her, but Jasper snatched my arm.
“She’s not worth it.” He narrowed his amber gaze at her, and she shriveled back a few inches.
“Answer me, damn it.” My voice came out in a growl.
“Okay, okay. I saw you going into your studio and got curious, so I followed you when you left.”
Heat boiled inside me. But this time I wasn’t angry at Bree. This type of behavior didn’t surprise me coming from her. I was angry at myself for not paying better attention. If Orien hadn’t spelled the woods so I couldn’t sense aura energy, I would have felt her behind us. I depended too heavily on my magic these days.
“What are we going to do?” Jasper asked. “With her.” His scowl deepened as he glanced back at Bree, whose ponytail was a mess. Leaves stuck to the side of her head, and she had dirt smudged all over her face.
I quirked a brow at her stretch pants and tennis shoes. She hadn’t given the impression of a person who dressed for comfort. What was she doing prowling around this late at night?
I smoothed my ponytail back and scanned the trail ahead. “I’ve come too far to turn back now. I have to find Darion and Lucas. You take her back.”
Jasper scrunched up his face. “No way! I’m not leaving you. She found her way here. She can find her way back by herself.”
I dug my fingernails into my palms and winced at the searing pain in my injured hand. We were wasting time. “These woods are dangerous,” I whispered, so only Jasper could hear. “We can’t let her go back alone.”
Bree inched forward and rolled her shoulders back, seeming to have regained her courage. “Wait. Look, I’m sorry I followed you. I know you don’t like me, and the feeling is mutual.” Her tone took on the familiar air of superiority. “But let’s just forget for now about what I saw and heard, which I expect you to explain later. I don’t want to walk back alone. If you let me stay with you, I can help.”
Jasper and I both barked out a laugh simultaneously, causing Bree to cross her arms over her chest and narrow her gaze at us. She tapped her foot, waiting for us to compose ourselves.
“Okay, seriously,” I said, rubbing at the aching muscles in my abdomen. “How are you going to help us?”
One of Bree’s hands flew to her side, and her elbow arched high. “I’ve been hiking these trails every morning since I moved here. I’ve gotten pretty familiar with the area.”
When neither Jasper nor I responded, she continued. “I can prove it. Do you hear rushing water?”
We both nodded, cautiously.
“There’s a waterfall just around this corner. It’s the first of many along the trail.”
My head tilted to the side as I considered. “You could have guessed that.”
Bree huffed and rolled her eyes. “There’s a fallen tree across the trail about a quarter of a mile u
p. We’ll have to climb over it.” She marched forward, not waiting for us to agree to let her join our group.
Jasper’s silhouette leaned closer to me. “Should we follow her?”
I shrugged. “I don’t think we have any choice. She might know where some of the caves are. But if Orien or any of the Shimera find us, I want you to protect her.”
Jasper stiffened. “Your safety is my priority, Ev.”
Bree’s voice floated back to us. “Are you two coming or what?”
I grabbed Jasper’s shoulder and squeezed through his leather jacket. “You said the Vitarian people have already accepted me as their queen. Well, you are one of those people. I need you to do what I ask. Promise me.”
I might not have been able to use my Empath ability while in these woods, but I knew Jasper well enough to know that the creases forming at the corners of his eyes meant he battled with his emotions. He bowed his head against mine. “All I can promise is that I’ll do my best to keep her safe as long as it doesn’t put you at risk.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
We ran up the trail and caught up to Bree. It wasn’t long before we found both the waterfall and the large fallen tree, just where she’d said they’d be.
“Bree,” I called ahead, and she paused. “Do you know of any caves or underground tunnels along this trail?”
Her eyes lit up. “There’s an old railroad that runs through here. I found a path that leads down to an underground tunnel the workers used to use. It looks like it’s been abandoned for years.”
My pulse quickened. “What direction is it?”
Bree pointed forward. “If we keep going a bit, there’s a trail that breaks off the cliffside.” Her arm moved sideways with her finger pointing down the side of the trail we were on. “If we follow it, it’ll take us directly to the cave’s entrance.”
I extracted the pouch of stones from my pocket and arranged them on the ground in two long horizontal and vertical lines. I slipped the knife from its case on my belt.
